The video streaming platform YouTube has blocked Duma TV from broadcasting from the lower house of Russia’s parliament.

This has provoked an angry response from Russian officials who said the world’s most popular broadcasting service may face restrictions in response.

On Saturday, a YouTube message said the Duma channel had been “banned for violating the YouTube Terms of Service”.

YouTube, owned by Alphabet Inc., has been under pressure from Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor, and officials have responded quickly.

“Save the content, transfer it (it) to Russian platforms. And hurry,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Telegram messaging service.

The communications watchdog said it had asked Google to immediately restore access to the Duma channel.

“The American IT company adheres to a strong anti-Russian position in the information war launched by the West against our country,” Roskomnadzor said.

Russia has already restricted access to Twitter and the Meta platforms, Facebook and Instagram, since sending thousands of troops to Ukraine on February 24.

Russia had previously tried to ban the Telegram messaging app, which is now widely used by officials, but lifted its ban in mid-2020.

Some Russian media outlets described the move as a capitulation, but Roskomnadzor said it had acted as it did because the app’s Russian founder, Pavel Durov, was prepared to co-operate in the fight against terrorism and extremism on the platform.